Garbine Muguruza to face Timea Bacsinszky in China Open final

Garbine Muguruza continued her best season to date with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday to advance to her first ever China Open final. One more victory would clinch her biggest title and validate her new number four WTA ranking come Monday.

After falling behind in the first set, Muguruza stepped up to Radwanska’s challenge and won 11 of the next 15 games. She delivered a calculated net game and remained steady and confident, even as Radwanska nearly tied the third set at 5-5.

The other semifinal was just as close, as Swiss Timea Bacsinszky impressively battled Ana Ivanovic from a 5-7,1-5 score near the end of two sets to eventually win the set and continue the momentum to the end of the match, which she won 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.

The victory is a milestone both for Timea Bacsinszky and Swiss women’s tennis, as she will become only the fourth Swiss to claim a number 10 ranking (come Monday) in WTA history. After starting the season at number 47, she is also a contender for a coveted spot in the WTA Finals in Singapore.

These semis showed the potential of rising stars Muguruza and Bacsinszky as they both showed poise against veterans Radwanska and Ivanovic. The final in Beijing is sure to be one worth watching for tennis fans!